Learnings made: Dr. Abdullah Albeyatti from Medicalchain

We are pleased to have Dr. Albeyatti (Abdullah Albeyatti) as our first interview partner in our series “Learning from the Best”

“I make sure to never be dismissive of potential opportunities however unlikely they may appear in the beginning”

Dr. Abdullah Albeyatti started his entrepreneurial journey as the CEO and Co-Founder of Medicalchain in 2016. Gaining many experiences and learnings as a medical doctor working in the UK National Health Service, Dr. Albeyatti was looking for solutions to inefficiencies he had discovered. Medicalchain is now the result of Dr. Albeyatti’s career path and his passion for innovation and problem solving. With the claim “Own your health”, Medicalchain is out there to shape the future of digital healthcare.

What is Medicalchain?

Albeyatti: Medicalchain is a platform for the storage and utilization of medical records using blockchain technology. Our focus is to empower patients to be the holders of their records in a secure but accessible format. This will lead to better consultations, improved telemedicine experiences and unlocking the value of health records so that if a patient decides to share their information with an insurance or research company they will receive monetary rewards for this.

How did you realize blockchain makes sense for your product?

Albeyatti: We needed a system robust enough to prove to health institutions that the information could not be tampered with if the records were held and accessible by patients. At the same time, we needed a granularity level of access where patients have read only privileges and clinicians could have read and write capabilities. All of the interactions with the records would be ‘transactions’ documented and logged for future auditing. Blockchain made perfect sense.

What was the hardest challenge during your blockchain journey so far?

Albeyatti: Building and maintaining a community. We now have over 60,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, a variety of messaging apps and Instagram. It is vital to reach as many people as possible and make them aware of our brand and our vision. There are days I am very proud and thankful to have our community, those that ask us challenging questions and debate between themselves the feasibility of what we are trying to achieve. Other days, less so, when the questions are only related to our token price and a few individuals are less interested about our mission and more about their own personal financial gain. We are a serious company who have set out on a long-term goal and do not entertain the idea of ‘pump and dumps’ and other such ICO cryptocurrency related shortsightedness.

What was the biggest learning you made during the last year?

Albeyatti: The importance of going that extra mile as you never know what opportunities will open up for you. I remember I was on a weekend break with my family in Dublin. I had not spent time with them for nearly five months as the work load and pressure continued to grow trying to establish Medicalchain. I received a phone call late that night saying there was an important meeting that I should be at, however it was in Berlin. At first, I said I could not make it and that we would send someone else instead. I could tell that this was not the right decision for Medicalchain and spoke to my family about leaving for this important trip. As with everything, my wife and family were supportive and encouraged me to leave for Berlin. I cannot go into the details of this meeting but it turned out to be a significant catalyst in developing Medicalchain and solidifying our brand. I make sure to never be dismissive of potential opportunities however unlikely they may appear in the beginning.

What’s the best advice you’ve recently received?

Albeyatti: “There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle; it’s just a matter of finding it.” Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek

What would you recommend others, who are planning to do an ICO?

Albeyatti: Study other successful ICOs and reach out to their founders and form bonds and friendships with them. Integrity is everything and once you’ve lost it, it’s gone. Be wary that others will try to hijack your project in order to pedal their own scamming ways which might in turn benefit you financially in the short term but will ultimately destroy your project and vision.

How do you attract investors for your project?

Albeyatti: We had participants, not investors. The language has to be very clear here. If your project is sound and the team you’ve built robust and capable, the interest from others will naturally follow.

Who is your favourite super or real-life hero?

Albeyatti: Batman; he had no powers other than pure determination and sheer will to see an objective through.